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Toronto has no easy ways to prevent another ice storm crisis: Editorial

An independent review panel looking at how Toronto Hydro responded to last December’s ice storm offers no easy answers on preventing future crises.

A pedestrian walks under a tree blocking Wellesley Street East following an ice storm in Toronto on Dec. 23, 2013. Report on Toronto Hydro's response to the storm points a way toward progress.
(Matthew Sherwood / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Thu., June 19, 2014

Its recommendations aren’t costed out and some proposals remain fuzzy, but a new report on Toronto Hydro’s response to last December’s ice storm does, at least, point a way toward progress.

Given that this 102-page expert report was produced just six months after the devastating storm, it’s probably the best analysis that could be expected. But much remains to be thrashed out, including the practicality of requiring all highrise condo and apartment buildings to have bigger back-up generators; whether to bury a lot more hydro lines; and how far to slash the city’s tree canopy.

The four-member panel lamented that these regulations don’t also require electricity for “essential needs” such as running refrigerators and phones and providing heat during an extended outage. Panel member Sean Conway made an impassioned argument in favour of mandating more emergency power to protect elderly people stuck in highrise apartments.

It’s a well-intentioned measure, no doubt. But in the absence of a reliable estimate for what this might cost it would be irresponsible for the province to change the building code without a great deal more scrutiny. It’s worth noting that last year’s pre-Christmas ice storm, the worst in Toronto Hydro’s history, left 400,000 customers without power – some for up to 11 days. Thousands of vulnerable people were affected, yet no one died and there was only one injury.

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Greatly expanded emergency generation capacity in Ontario highrises would certainly make life more comfortable and more secure for residents, but it’s not yet clear if it would be worth the cost. There may be other useful ways to enhance care for vulnerable people in such crises.

There’s a case for running more power lines underground, especially to key facilities such as sewage treatment plants and hospitals, for example, but protecting the entire city this way may be prohibitively expensive. Toronto Hydro estimates that going entirely underground would cost $15 billion.

Even if the bill amounted to half that, it would be a difficult undertaking involving significant rate hikes. Still, there’s no need to do it all at once. A wiser approach would be to bring in a gradual program of putting more lines underground. Many other cities do that without breaking the bank.

An easier and cheaper way to prevent outages is simply to cut further back on tree branches overhanging power lines. Only 17 of Toronto Hydro’s more than 100,000 wooden poles snapped during the ice storm. The vast majority of outages occurred when ice-laden branches fell across wires and severed connections.

A consultant hired to evaluate the system concluded that existing tree guidelines don’t go far enough, requiring branches to be cleared for just three feet around primary power lines, and only one foot around secondary wires. “These (clearances) are not sufficient to protect the lines during major weather incidents” including wind, ice and heavy snow, the panel reported.

The answer is to cut back on trees, but that’s contrary to efforts aimed at expanding the city’s urban forest. Torontonians need to evaluate these priorities and decide on the proper balance. A healthy tree canopy is essential to a livable city, but existing branch clearances obviously need to be increased. Deciding by how much should be a matter of broad public input.

The panel looking into ice storm response did produce several useful, highly technical recommendations including ways to enhance Toronto Hydro’s ability to communicate with customers in a timely and accurate way. These should be quickly put in place. But moving forward on big-ticket items, and those with a major impact on the face of this city, demand more time and consultation.

That’s as it should be. The worst way to respond in the wake of a crisis is to act in haste without all the information that’s needed.

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